MOSCOW (MRC) -- Linde announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Baowu Steel Group's new subsidiary, Baowu Clean Energy Ltd, to jointly cooperate on research and development to further develop China's hydrogen market for industrial and mobility applications, said Chemicalonline.
The two companies will work together to increase the accessibility of hydrogen to industries and advance the acceptance of hydrogen mobility solutions in China. Under the agreement, Linde and Baowu Clean Energy will also explore the option to invest in liquid hydrogen plants and infrastructure.
"We are delighted to build on our long-term partnership with Baowu Group with this latest cooperation to accelerate the development of hydrogen infrastructure and solutions for mobility and other industrial applications. Linde with its technology leadership in hydrogen is delighted to be the strategic partner for the Baowu Group as we work together to make hydrogen accessible for users across China," said Sanjiv Lamba, EVP & CEO Asia Pacific for Linde.
"This agreement with Linde marks an important new milestone in our long and successful partnership. Linde's expertise in hydrogen technology and solutions gives us the confidence that together we can transition to a cleaner low-carbon future for China," said Mr Guo Bin, Deputy General Manager, Baowu Steel Group.
Linde is a member of the global Hydrogen Council and the China Hydrogen Alliance which promotes hydrogen to help meet climate goals. The strategic agreement with Baowu follows Linde's recent joint venture with ITM Power and underscores the company's continued focus on delivering sustainable solutions in support of the global transition to cleaner energy.
Baowu Clean Energy is a subsidiary of Baowu Steel Group, one of the world's largest steel manufacturers. It was founded on 15 November 2019 to implement the Group's cleaner energy vision. The company will focus on the development of the hydrogen ecosystem in China, from production, to storage and distribution infrastructure and mobility concepts.
As MRC wrote previously, German chemical company BASF and The Linde Group’s Engineering Division are collaborating to serve natural gas processing applications using BASF’s absorbent technology and Linde’s adsorption and membrane technology. With the combined capabilities of materials expertise from BASF and engineering expertise from Linde, the two companies are well positioned to expand their global leadership position in natural gas applications. The collaboration is a strong signal to the natural gas industry and will open access to previously inaccessible gas compositions for treatment.
In June 2017, the heads of TAIF Group and Linde AG, the German holding, signed a memorandum of strategic cooperation for the period up to 2025 and a total investment of up to 12 billion euros. The document implies contracts on gas separation, industrial gases, but most importantly — on four stages of the construction of a new ethylene complex in Tatarstan.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polyprolypele (PP).
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,436,390 tonnes in the first eight months of 2019, up by 9% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, the PP consumption in the Russian market was 909,260 tonnes in January-August 2019, up by 10% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.
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